A few weeks ago, the ladies of KruisCX were nice enough to let me tag along for a weekend campout and gravel ride in the Catskills. I’ve been obsessed with cyclocross racing for so long, I usually miss most if not all of fall riding. I spend my fall weekend day camped in big grass fields obsessing over tire pressure and cornering technique.

While I can’t wait to get back to racing, the lack of it has meant a really nice change of pace and the ability to enjoy my surroundings more than I have since my years of collegiate racing. Plus, I’m eager to take advantage of the “good weather fall,” which I find annoyingly hot for cyclocross, but perfect for leaf-peeping group rides. I paired my Unlimited bibs with a Sublime jersey.

Because I had a handlebar bag and an extra bottle bag, I could enjoy the light breezy jersey without anything in the pockets to weigh it down. I kept a couple emergency waffles in my bib side pockets for easy access, just in case of sugar emergency.

In addition, I got a new gravel bike over the summer — a very special, one-of-a-kind custom Martini Cycles — that I’m so excited to have the time to use this fall.

The route started just north of Accord, New York, and after a brief rail trail warmup went straight up the mountain into Minnewaska State Park. Less than an hour into the ride, we said goodbye to tarmac for most of the day. For the next four hours we wound our way through park land on narrow dirt roads, marveling at the brilliance of the turning leaves. On either side of the park, the fall change was just beginning, but somehow within it things were almost at peak. There were sections where every leaf was a vibrant red and I had to just stop my bike and stare for a while.

The toughest climb of the day came just a few minutes after we turned into the park, a quarter of a mile section with loose dirt that varies from 10-17%, which Strava helpfully tells me is called “cardiac hill.” Once we survived that, it was gravy. We took a little detour onto the (relatively) newly opened Smiley trail, a 20-minute undulating climb that hits a dead end and goes absolutely nowhere except to Strava top 10 glory (see: new). From there we dropped down to and around Lake Awosting, which turned out to be an excellent place for a fall dip. We were about halfway into the ride and at that point each of us were either dirty or bloody or both (the sign of a great ride). The chilliness of the fall lake water was the perfect way to reset from a morning of climbing and get ready for… an afternoon of climbing.

From there, everything got twisty. It was the perfect fall ride for someone who misses cyclocross, because every turn was narrow, loose, and off-camber. We wound our way past the climbers at the Gunks, and past Lake Minnewaska, and eventually into the Mohonk Preserve. The Laurel Ledge climb gave us some of the best views of the day: the full ridge along with the valley below.

From there we headed down. We found the Mohonk exit and pointed our bikes downhill. After a day of slow dirt miles, hitting 35mph on the road was a perfect end-of-day rush.